ABC’s Once Upon a Time is a fantasy TV show that follows Emma Swan, a young woman living a regular life before her son, Henry, who she gave up for adoption, comes looking for her over a decade later. Henry brings Emma back to his hometown of Storybrooke, and before she knows it, she is sucked into a world where fairy tales are closer to reality than fiction. Henry realizes something sinister is going on and informs Emma that everyone in the town, including her adoptive mother, are characters from some of the most famous fairy tales known today.
The series’ main characters start their journey to stop Henry’s adoptive mother, Regina, aka the evil queen who put a curse on these characters and robbed them of their memories from doing more harm. Once Upon a Time is filled with tragic stories, and while some get their happy ending once again, for others, it ends in death or losing their loved ones. The great thing about this series is that these characters brought to the small screen aren’t what fans are used to seeing. Some changes excite viewers while others leave them scratching their heads, but it’s an exciting and constantly surprising watch. One character who finds himself intertwined with Regina and Storybrooke town is Robin Hood, who was originally played by Tom Ellis, but fans were surprised to see the actor depart after such a short time playing the iconic archer.
Tom Ellis Played Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time
Over Once Upon a Time’s seven seasons, several fairy tale characters appeared on the show, from Snow White to Aladdin and Cinderella; there is a revolving door of familiar characters that fans love to see. With the series covering fairy tales like Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Mulan, it was only a matter of time before the show brought the infamous Robin Hood to life. While a fox plays the titular character in 1973’s classic Robin Hood, this character has gotten several reiterations over the years. Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner are the most notable actors who’ve played Robin, with Taron Egerton taking on the role in 2018’s Robin Hood.
Robin Hood is beloved as a character because, although he uses the wrong methods, he always wants to do what is right. He is an outlaw who robs the rich to help sustain the poor. He is skilled at archery and spends most of his time in the Sherwood Forest, which gives him an advantage in stealing from wealthy lords traveling through it. His dashing good looks and charm always makes the women around him swoon, so undoubtedly, bringing him to the small screen was bound to be a treat for viewers.
Lucifer’s Tom Ellis played the dashing Robin Hood in this fantasy series and first appeared in Once Upon a Time Season 2, Episode 19, “Lacey.” In the episode, Robin Hood has been captured by Rumpelstiltskin, aka the Beast, and is being tortured. Rumple caught him trying to steal a magic wand from his collection and now wants to kill him for it. Belle, Rumple’s love interest on the show, comes to rescue Robin Hood, but when Rumple finds out, he goes hunting to kill him. Things change when Rumple realizes that Robin Hood stole from him only so he could help a sick and pregnant maid. In a show of compassion and Belle’s effect on him, Rumple lets Robin go with his life.
Tom Ellis had to Leave Once Upon a Time for Bigger Roles
Fans loved Ellis in Once Upon a Time, but there was a much more significant role knocking on his door. While Ellis’s time on the show was short, he impacted the character’s story arc, and fans wanted to see him again. The reception of his character was so good that the show’s producers wanted to make Robin Hood a series regular. Robin was meant to return for a recurring arc in Once Upon a Time Season 3, which Ellis could not do due to scheduling conflicts. At the time, Ellis already had a busy schedule working on two British TV shows; Miranda, where he played Gary, and Agatha Christie’s Poirot, where he had a minor role. Considering the three projects’ different time zones, he couldn’t commit to a recurring role in the fantasy show.
Robin Hood was recast in Once Upon a Time, with Sean Maguire playing the character from Seasons 3-5. Fans were surprised by the drastic change, but co-creator Adam Horowitz spoke to TVLine about the massive difference to quell any rumors of bad blood, saying,
Although we love Tom Ellis, unfortunately, he wasn’t available. We remain huge fans of his, but because we have an arc planned for the character, we had to move forward.
Maguire portrayed a more down-to-earth version of the character, and fans slowly learned to love seeing him and his interactions with other fictional characters in the series. With Sean’s chemistry with Lana Parrilla, who plays the evil Queen, being out of this world, their relationship was one of the many reasons fans kept tuning in to watch Once Upon a Time. Robin Hood quickly became one of the best characters in Once Upon a Time.
After his time on Once Upon a Time, Ellis got the leading role in the American TV show Rush. Rush followed a prominent doctor who, after being dismissed from a major LA hospital, only served a specific clientele, putting him in precarious situations. With Rush most often demanding cash for his services, it only made his drug and drinking addiction worse. The series was canceled after ten episodes, with critics feeling that the bad-boy doctor trope had already been overplayed on TV. The medical drama also didn’t cultivate as big of an audience as expected, so it’s not a shock it wasn’t renewed for a second season despite leaving a lot of hanging plot threads in its final episode.
Two years after the series’ cancelation, Ellis got another leading role in the American fantasy series Lucifer, and he didn’t have to fake an American accent for this character. Ellis plays Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen angel who leaves hell to live life on earth and see what the hype is all about. His portrayal of the wounded dark angel Lucifer is right on the mark. Ellis has the believable charm and charisma of a villainous character who spent centuries in hell with no way out. Even in the emotional moments, Ellis delivers, bringing out the character’s softer, more endearing side. Despite being a fictional show, Ellis as Lucifer feels natural and enjoyable, so it was worth losing out on the role of Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time to constantly deliver such a scene-stealing performance.
Notably, Ellis’ characters in Rush and Lucifer are very similar. They say the same inappropriate things, are charmingly arrogant, have unresolved daddy issues, and both pretend not to care about the people around them but honestly want to do right by them. It’s rumored that his performance in Rush is one of the reasons why Lucifer’s producers considered him for this star-making role. What Ellis’ Robin Hood and his most famous role in Lucifer have in common is that they both wear their hearts on their sleeve and don’t mind a little torture if it means getting what they want.
Tom Ellis Leaving Once Upon a Time was Good for the Show
While some fans missed Ellis’ portrayal of the folk hero, it was good that Maguire took on the role because he allowed fans to better understand Robin Hood and build more on his chemistry with Regina and Marian. In the fairytale, Robin is engaged to Marian, and while his chemistry on the show with Regina can only be described as true love, he decides to remain faithful and stay with Marian. If Ellis had stayed on with his packed schedule, Robin’s relationship with Regina would be very different.
When he met his death protecting Regina in Once Upon a Time, fans were unhappy and championed his return in Season 6, showing how much they had fallen in love with Maguire’s take on the character. Ellis also saw success in his role as Lucifer, with the series gaining worldwide acclaim and lasting for six seasons, even surviving a cancelation. It’s a pop culture staple, so Ellis leaving Once Upon a Time worked out better than anyone could have thought.
Source: cbr.com